maid

IPA/meɪd/
KK[mˈed]IPA/meɪd/

maid — 名詞

  • maidsingular
  • maidsplural

1. a woman who is paid to clean rooms, make beds, and do other household work at ho

1.名詞B1
釋義

女傭

在旅館或家中從事清潔打掃的女性僱員

a woman who is paid to clean rooms, make beds, and do other household work at hotels or inside people's homes

例句

The hotel maid had cleaned our room before we returned from breakfast.

我們回去吃早餐前，旅館女傭已經打掃好我們的房間了。

common collocation: hotel maid

Mira works as a maid for an elderly couple and does their laundry every week.

Mira 為一對老夫妻當女傭，每週幫他們洗衣服。

collocation: works as a maid

常見搭配
  • hotel maid
  • housemaid
  • live-in maid
  • maid service
  • maid's room
同義詞
  • housemaid

    specifically a maid employed in a private home rather than a hotel

  • chambermaid

    a maid who cleans bedrooms, typically used for hotel staff

  • domestic worker

    a broader, more formal term that can include maids, cleaners, and other household employees

  • cleaner

    focuses on cleaning tasks and does not usually imply live-in work or room service

反義詞
  • employer

    the person who hires and pays the maid

用法筆記

This is the most common modern meaning of maid. In hotels, the term chambermaid is also used for a maid who cleans guest rooms. The broader term housekeeper often refers to someone who supervises other cleaning staff.

常見錯誤

She works as a maid cleaner.
She works as a maid.
'maid' already includes the cleaning role; adding 'cleaner' is redundant.
The maid is the same as a butler.
A maid does cleaning work; a butler manages the household and serves meals.
these are different roles in a large household.

2. a dated or literary word for a girl or woman who has never been married; it can

2.名詞C1
釋義

未婚女子

指未婚年輕女性（舊式用語）

a dated or literary word for a girl or woman who has never been married; it can also refer to someone who has never had sex

例句

In Jane Austen's novels, a young maid of good family was expected to marry well.

在珍·奧斯汀的小說裡，出身良好的年輕未婚女子被期望嫁入好人家。

archaic / literary register

The old photograph showed a shy maid of eighteen, wearing a simple white dress.

那張舊照片中，一位十八歲的羞澀少女穿著簡樸的白洋裝。

常見搭配
  • old maid
  • maid of honour
  • young maid
  • fair maid
同義詞
  • maiden

    an even more archaic word with the same meaning; found in fairy tales and historical texts

  • unmarried woman

    the neutral modern phrase that has replaced this sense of maid

  • virgin

    emphasises the 'has not had sex' part of the meaning, but is more direct

反義詞
  • married woman

    a woman who has married; the opposite in terms of marital status

  • bride

    a woman on or just after her wedding day

用法筆記

This sense is dated in modern English. Using maid to mean 'unmarried young woman' outside of historical, literary, or poetic contexts sounds very old-fashioned. The everyday term is young woman or unmarried woman. The related noun maiden shares this same old-fashioned flavour.

常見錯誤

My sister is a maid of 25.
My sister is 25 and not married.
using 'maid' to describe a modern unmarried woman sounds strange and outdated.
慣用語

old maid

idiom

a slightly offensive, old-fashioned term for a woman who has never married and is no longer considered young; also the name of a card-matching game

老處女（卡牌遊戲：捉烏龜）

The children spent the rainy afternoon playing Old Maid with a worn deck of cards.

The novel's main character is unfairly dismissed as an old maid by her neighbours.

maid of honour

idiom

a young unmarried woman who is the chief attendant of the bride at a wedding; in British tradition, also a historical title for an unmarried noblewoman attending a queen

伴娘（首席）；女侍官

Noor chose her younger sister to be the maid of honour at the wedding.

The queen appointed a new maid of honour to serve in the royal court.

同根字

常見搭配

名詞搭配

  • maid service
  • maid uniform
  • maid's room